Headrush
by adventure-snail
Summary: All he wants is to ask her on a date... Easier said than done. Irosami.


**Headrush**

**A/N: Thanks to my editor, jncxo!**

Breathe in, breathe out. Slick back hair. Fold the wrinkles out of my shirt. Breathe in, breathe out. Pull the cuffs of my sleeves up. Fix the loose strap of my shoe. Breathe in, breathe out. This torture was more brutal than any I had endured in the Republic Army: asking Asami Sato on a date.

Peeking out from the stone wall, I saw her sitting on the edge of the park's silver fountain, peering into the pond at the red and orange fish. Her shiny black hair fell like a waterfall down her back, ends delicately curled up. Her eyes shone as brightly as the late afternoon sun, maybe even brighter.

I was getting some odd looks from citizen passerby, so I needed to make this quick. I strode over and sat next to her on the fountain's edge.

I glanced over at her. "Why, Asami Sato!" I said, trying to look surprised, as if we had both sat there by coincidence.

"General Iroh! So good to see you again!" Asami said brightly. "What brings you here to the park?"

"Oh... um, just wanted some fresh air..." I said. That was about as awkward as I could have sounded.

"Hmm, yes, it's a beautiful day," she said, glancing back at the pond.

I cleared my throat. "Asami... I've been meaning to ask you something. Will you-"

I couldn't finish. She had turned towards me, and I just couldn't go on to ask her.

"'Will I' what?" she asked, confused.

"Will... you... tell me about the Equalist base under your house? Um... the police force is looking for likely signs of stray Equalist headquarters..." I said in a breath. I paused.

Asami looked confused again, and a little sad. "Uh... It's a little hard to tell _exactly_ what it looked like. But almost all of it was made of metal... and there were a lot of steam pipes. Maybe Chief Beifong could use metal-bending to find one."

"Yes, yes of course..." I said, avoiding eye contact. "Now, there's something else I need to ask."

"Yes?"

"Oh, uh... W-what have you been doing recently? I mean, after all the craziness of the Equalists and Amon..."

"Well, it's nice to be free of that. You know, to be back to the same old thing. I guess, if you could really call them that, with what happened with my dad..."

Bad topic! BAD TOPIC! Okay, okay... new subject.

"Your dad... uh... had he been working on any... new... things?" I asked. I could feel a bead of sweat fall down the back of my neck.

"I think a new car. The newest Satomobile, the 28. Now there are music stations for the radio! Can you believe it? Who would have thought."

"Yeah, amazing..." I said, letting her dominate the conversation.

"...and it has an open top too. You should see it..."

I never thought a girl like Asami would be interested in cars like that, but then I remembered everything she had done to fight the Equalists. She was one tough girl!

"My, how great would it be to drive one of them!" I said, sounding eager.

"You know," Asami said, leaning a bit closer, "my father's workers built a prototype."

I knew what she meant. She wanted to drive it too. And with me! My opportunity had come!

"Well," I said slowly, "I don't think they'll be using it anytime soon..."

"Would you like to take it for a spin later?" Asami said, looking excited. Her face was practically glowing.

"Sure!" I said.

"Can you come by the Sato mansion racetrack at 8:00 tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm free tonight."

"Alright, it's a date!" she said, happily. She hopped up and walked along the path to the park gates. I could have melted right on the spot, there, and it wasn't from the heat of the sun...

/

The walk through downtown Republic City was long and exhausting, but I knew I had to be at Asami's lot on time. Though the walkways were full of people, I managed to maneuver past them. A few made way, and even saluted me!

Once at the lot, I crossed the grassy grounds to the racetrack. This is where Hiroshi Sato ran and tested his vehicles. His Sato-kart 5 could accelerate to 160 mph in 13 seconds, it was unheard of! Asami was waiting for me, polishing the goggles on her helmet. It was a shame to hide her beautiful hair in the bulky black helmet... wouldn't it look fabulous dancing behind her in the gusting wind?

"...and when I finished, I was going to warm up the engines when you arrived," Asami finished. I probably should have been paying more attention. I smiled and nodded, which seemed to satisfy her. She went over to the stands, which surrounded the track, and over to a pinewood crate. From there, she dug out a worn, dark brown helmet with leather padding. She handed it to me.

"Thanks," I mumbled, straightening the straps. She motioned for me to follow her to the "28". Sleek black metal covered the exterior, the interior made of leather. The metal radio box shined brightly from its compartment, ready to have its dials turned. And, as always in Sato-mobiles, the gear shift path was engraved in a path as jaggedly curvy as a lightning bolt. My, was she beautiful. ... Asami was certainly beautiful too...

Asami uttered a small chuckle. "Are you going to get in?"

I really have to stop thinking to myself. I opened the door and stepped in. I had driven tanks and bi-planes before, but, surprisingly, never a car. I looked at the gearshift and hesitated.

"Perhaps I should drive," Asami said, opening her door. I nodded. After all, this was the only prototype they had.

We switched, and Asami shifted to the second gear (I made a mental note of that) and let her foot press on the second foot pedal. The automobile shot forward, and if Asami had not worn her helmet, I believe her hair might have been left behind! She laid the tip of her boot gently on the first pedal until the car halted.

Shaking a bit, I open the door and stepped out. Asami, who had gotten out as well took off her helmet and flipped her hair back. "What a rush! Wasn't that exciting?" she asked, grinning.

"Definitely exciting!" I said, and that was the truth.

"Hm… would you be interested in driving around town, then?"

I was about to ask if her father would mind, but I remembered that Mr. Sato probably cared more about his cell block than his vehicle company at the moment.

"I'd be glad to," I said cheerily.

Once the car was out on open road, Asami had to drive slower because of traffic (Republic City was just as busy at night as it was in the daytime). This was a particular relief to me, though I didn't say so.

As we passed several food shops, carts, and stands, I saw Asami's mouth water.

"Would you like to stop and get something to eat?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure," Asami said, not wanting to look greedy.

"Where do you want to go? There's Narook's... Dragon's Cuisine..."

"Would you like to go to Yin's? I hear they make delicious rice and noodles!"

I was all right with that. We drove around the corner and parked on the side of the street. It was smaller than one would expect, but it was extravagantly decorated inside. Paper fans and ink paintings covered a good deal of the walls and a few men were playing a melody on some taiko drums.

When seated, I ordered a plate of rice and a cup of jasmine tea, while Asami ordered some noodles and a cup of ginger tea. We talked for awhile while our food was being made, about art and cars and the city. We almost didn't notice when the waiter brought our food.

"Mmm," said Asami, after swallowing a mouthful. "Did I not say the food was delicious?"

"Perfect," I said, smiling and adding some honey to my tea.

"Now," Asami said, pointing her chopstick at me, "what should we do after this?"

Why hadn't I planned this out more?

"Hmm, we'll just have to see," I say in what I hope is a suave voice, taking the last sip of tea.

After paying the bill, we left. My plan was still not quite clear in my head, so I decided to let this play itself out. It did.

As we were traveling down the road, Asami glanced to the left. "Wow!" she exclaimed in awe, swerving to park once more. She sprung over the door and ran out into the grassy area beside the sea.

"Look at the sunset!" she said, her mouth gaping open.

"Yes," I said, joining her. "It's beautiful."

We both looked at each other at the same time. She was the one that was truly beautiful. I leaned down and kissed her on the lips. After a moment, Asami pulled back and smiled. I smiled back, but a little more awkwardly. I admit, I wasn't as smooth as I could have been on that date. I was as awkward as a baby turtle duck trying to swim! But this certainly wasn't the last of my dates with the fair Miss Sato…


End file.
